Due to recent developments in China, a demand for learning Chinese characters and the number of persons using the Chinese characters have been sharply increased. Unlike the Korean characters or the English characters that are relatively simple character systems having a relatively small number of characters, the Chinese characters, which are ideographic characters including hieroglyphic characters, include tens of thousands of irregular characters. Accordingly, since it is unable to input the Chinese characters, as they are, by using a keyboard having a limited number of keys in electronic apparatuses such as computers or mobile phones, there are various difficulties in applying the Chinese characters to the electronic apparatus.
In general, as a conventional method of inputting the Chinese characters, a “Hanyu Pinyin” input method and a “Five Strokes” input method have been most widely used.
First, according to the Hanyu Pinyin input method, characters of the same pronunciation are listed as candidates and a desired character is selected to be input. In this method, however, even when one knows a Chinese character to input, the Chinese character should be input by using Roman characters. Furthermore, since there are so many Chinese characters having the same pronunciation, it is very inconvenient to select a desired character from a group of Chinese characters having the same pronunciation every time a Chinese character is to be input. Furthermore, if one does not know accurate pronunciation, an error may occur in a process of selecting and inputting a correct Chinese character.
Second, according to the Five Strokes input method, a Chinese character may be input as a combination by using strokes and radicals of Chinese characters. In order to use the Five Strokes input method, one should memorize symbols and keys of the Five Strokes and know the order of writing a Chinese character and a method of inputting the Five Strokes. When a Chinese character is input by using the Five Strokes, the Chinese character may be input by typing mainly four symbols or by typing one or three symbols for frequently used words, according to cases. Accordingly, when one is accustomed to the Five Stroke input method, the input method may enable a relatively fast input of a Chinese character, compared to the Hanyu Pinyin input method. However, it is a drawback that it is difficult to learn the Five Strokes input method because some characters are difficult to be intuitively input without a Five Strokes dictionary. In other words, the Five Strokes input method requires a long-time training method to learn the input method.
Accordingly, there is a demand for a new Chinese character input method to directly input the Chinese characters, unlike the Hanyu Pinyin input method, and to intuitively and easily input the Chinese characters, unlike the Five Strokes input method.